Dawaa Reference

chronic

Suspected pregnancy

Treatment options, dosing, cautions and Egyptian brands from the shipped Dawaa Reference card.

Evidence status

Checked against the sources named below

Sources3 sources

Ectopic Pregnancy - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539860/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class WS01 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Verified against1 document
  • No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Verified date2026-08

Presentation reference

Is it this?

Reference only, to read alongside your own examination.

Symptoms — what the patient reports (2)

  • Missed periods, lower abdominal or pelvic pain, or bleeding per vaginam in a woman who could conceive [abdominal pain · bleeding · lower abdominal pain · pelvic pain]
  • Swab the vaginal fluid if she reports discharge, burning or pain, because a sexually transmitted infection threatens the fetus and complicates the pregnancy

Tests (11)

  • Send a pregnancy test early in any such woman, and in anyone who is shocked
  • It is highly sensitive and specific, but know where it falls down
  • Ultrasound is the imaging of choice this early, being accurate and safe for mother and baby
  • Read the scan together with the beta-hCG and the whole clinical picture, never alone
  • The urine test usually turns positive about ten days after the period was missed
  • It reads falsely negative on dilute urine and on a beta-hCG below about 25 mIU/mL
  • So use the first urine of the morning, which is the most concentrated
  • It reads falsely positive on fertility drugs that contain beta-hCG, on some cancers, and on a faulty device
  • In the early first trimester, a level that roughly doubles over 48 hours is reassuring
  • Start with the scan through the abdomen, which is less invasive, and a full bladder gives the window
  • Go through the vagina when the abdominal view is unclear, since it sees a very early pregnancy and the adnexa better

If not this — what else fits (3)

  • A positive test does not say where the pregnancy is - ectopic still has to be excluded
  • Red flag: a raised beta-hCG does not prove the pregnancy is normal or even viable
  • It is also raised in ectopic and heterotopic pregnancy, in miscarriage, and by abnormal germ cell, placental or embryonal tissue

SourceStatPearls "Early Pregnancy Diagnosis" - disease-level clinical article

Presentation findings are traced to the source above.

1

NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (RECOGNITION & REFERRAL)

1st line
Adult dose and duration

A presenting complaint of possible pregnancy (missed period, symptoms) before confirmation; the GP's role is to test and confirm, not to prescribe. - Refer

Paediatric dose

Adult-only condition - paediatric section not applicable

Dose source

No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

Why

A presenting complaint of possible pregnancy (missed period, symptoms) before confirmation; the GP's role is to test and confirm, not to prescribe.

Cautions
  • Suspected pregnancy with severe abdominal pain or bleeding should raise concern for an ectopic pregnancy and needs urgent work-up.
  • No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.